Substance Use Counselling · Newhaven

Substance Use Counselling in Newhaven

Substance Use Counselling for Newhaven and the surrounding area, in person or online. Newhaven, a working port on the Ouse estuary with its fort and ferry to Dieppe, sits to the east of the city. From my room in nearby Hove I offer a calm, confidential space to do this work.

In person in HoveOnline tooFree 15-min consultation
BACP registered member25+ years of experienceLived experience
Bradley Riddell, BACP-registered counsellor near Newhaven at his Hove room, introducing his approach to substance use counselling
ConfidentialA safe, private space
Person-centredThe therapy fits you

In and around Newhaven

Substance Use Counselling for Newhaven, at a glance

Known for
Newhaven Fort, the harbour and the Ouse estuary
Area
Coast: Brighton to Newhaven, East/West Sussex
Getting to the Hove room
From Newhaven it is around twenty-five minutes west along the coast through Peacehaven and Brighton to Hove, or a train via Lewes.
Local NHS / support route
East Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support
Format
In person at my private Hove room, or by secure video UK-wide.

Life in Newhaven

What brings people in Newhaven to counselling?

In a port town the day and night blur, and that has a lot to do with how drug use takes hold here. Something to get to sleep when you finish at an hour nobody else does, something to stay sharp through a long stretch, something at the weekend that has slowly become more than the weekend. Around Denton and the streets behind West Quay it is used indoors and mentioned to nobody. Newhaven is not a place where people volunteer this sort of information. The result is that a pattern can shift substantially over a couple of years without anyone, including you, having a clear view of when it changed.

Newhaven Fortthe harbour and ferry terminalParadise Parkthe Ouse estuary

Areas covered

Neighbourhoods in and around Newhaven

DentonMeeching RoadFort RoadSouth WayDrove RoadLewes RoadWest Quay

Wherever you are in Newhaven, the work is the same, a calm, confidential space shaped around you.

The local picture

The local picture in Newhaven

Official figures for Newhaven, for context rather than as a description of you.

Reviewed June 2026.

What is substance use counselling, in practice?

Substance use counselling here is non-judgemental and one-to-one, working with the pain, fear or loneliness the substance has been managing, at a pace that protects your sense of safety.

What actually happens in the room is the same everywhere, so it is written up once: see substance use counselling in detail for the methods, how I work for fees and session lengths, and my BACP registration if you want to check who you would be working with.

Where do we meet, and what happens?

Sessions take place in a private, comfortable room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove, held to the strict BACP confidentiality you would expect. We begin with a free fifteen-minute call to check we are a good fit, and the same sessions are available by secure video if travelling is difficult or you would simply prefer it.

Hove is about twenty-five minutes along the coast by car, or a train through Lewes, and you are welcome exactly as you are when you get there. Nothing is tested, nobody is asked to have stopped, and no local service is told you came. When travelling would be difficult around a shift, or you would rather not explain the time away, secure video sessions cover the same ground.

Book a free 15-minute call

What I help with

What can substance use counselling in Newhaven help with?

Drugs and substances

Confidential support for any kind of substance use.

The false self

Letting go of the protective self that no longer serves you.

Specialised attention

One-to-one sessions shaped entirely around you.

Self-discovery

Rediscovering the authentic self beneath the coping.

Anxiety and low mood

Treating what the substance has been masking.

Sustainable change

Growing into recovery rather than forcing it.

Substance Use Counselling in Newhaven

Why people in Newhaven come for substance use counselling

The focus here is drugs, and the position on your current use is simple: it is information, not a verdict. Cannabis to force sleep, cocaine at weekends, ketamine, stimulants to hold a long shift together, or medication that has outlived its prescription can all be talked about directly. There is no requirement to stop first and no interest in a promise you do not mean. What matters is the job the substance is doing, because shift patterns, pain, worry and old memories do not disappear when the drug does. Deaths from drug misuse across the county stood at 4.9 per 100,000 in 2022 - 24, under the England average of 5.8 per 100,000. Prescribing, testing and structured treatment are free through East Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support and STAR.

A free, unhurried first step

Not sure if it is right for you? A free fifteen-minute call is a no-obligation way to talk it through.

Book a free 15-minute call

Drug, alcohol & addiction support in Newhaven

My counselling sits alongside the help available locally. In Newhaven, free local drug and alcohol support is available through East Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support.

For confidential information and advice, FRANK (on 0300 123 6600) and Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 are free, and Alcoholics Anonymous and SMART Recovery run peer-support meetings you can find online.

Other local and national support verified for this area includes:

If you need urgent help now

This is not a crisis service. If anyone is in immediate danger call 999. For urgent mental health support, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. The Samaritans are free, day or night, on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258.

If you drink heavily or use drugs daily, do not stop suddenly on your own. Withdrawal can cause seizures and can be dangerous. Speak to your GP or a local drug and alcohol service first, and they can arrange a safe, medically supported withdrawal. Counselling works alongside that, not instead of it.

Newhaven questions

Substance Use Counselling in Newhaven: common questions

Where do Newhaven sessions take place, and can I meet online instead?

In a private room at Intergen House on Western Road in central Hove. From Newhaven it is around twenty-five minutes west along the coast through Peacehaven and Brighton to Hove, or a train via Lewes. Every service is also available by secure video across the UK, so you can meet from any private space in Newhaven or blend the two.

I use to sleep after nights. Is that really a drug problem?

It may or may not be, and that is worth working out rather than assuming either way. Using something to force sleep around shift work sets up a cycle that usually steepens over time. Looking at it early tends to be a good deal easier than later.

Will anything be said to my employer?

Nothing at all. There is no report to an employer, no note to a manager and nothing added to your GP record without your agreement. The narrow exceptions to confidentiality concern serious risk to life, and they are explained clearly before the first session.

Do I have to describe everything straight away?

No. The first appointment is mostly about what has brought you and what you would like to be different, at whatever depth feels manageable. Things left unsaid early usually arrive in their own time. Nothing is prised out of anybody here.

What can STAR do that counselling cannot?

Medical assessment, prescribing, testing and a structured treatment programme, all free and reached through East Sussex County Council's drug and alcohol support. Counselling works on the history and the patterns instead. Using both together is common and causes no difficulty at all.

What do sessions cost?

The opening 15-minute conversation is free of charge. After that an hour costs £80, ninety minutes £100 and two hours £120, settled one appointment at a time. Most people start with the hour, weekly, and adjust once they can see how it is going.

Can sessions work around irregular or shift work?

Yes. There is some flexibility on timing, and online sessions in particular can fit around shifts and unsociable hours so support works with your week, not against it.

Can I get to Hove by train from Newhaven for substance use counselling?

Yes, though it runs via Lewes: trains from Newhaven Town reach Lewes, where you change for Brighton and Hove. By car the coast road west takes around twenty-five minutes. Begin with a free fifteen-minute call on 07914 681995 or through the contact page.

Free or paid for substance use support in Newhaven?

Both. In East Sussex you can self-refer to Change Grow Live for free substance help with no GP needed. Privately, fees are £80 for sixty minutes, £100 for ninety and £120 for two hours after a free call, and the two can run side by side.

Do you offer evening or online substance use sessions for Newhaven?

Yes. In a hard-working port town where a trip across takes a while, many Newhaven clients value secure video from home, which is equally confidential. Evening appointments are available, and you can blend in-person and online sessions however suits.

Substance Use Counselling in Newhaven, whenever you are ready

A free fifteen-minute call is the simplest place to start, no obligation, just a chance to see if we are the right fit.

Also available nearby: Peacehaven, Seaford, Saltdean. See all areas I cover.

People who come for substance use counselling in Newhaven often also look at addiction counselling, counselling for drinking problems and anxiety counselling.

You may also find it useful to read about once an addict, always an addict? and three ways to handle a craving.

Prefer to meet remotely? The same substance use counselling is available online by secure video across the UK, or see online counselling by region.